Quiet River

I grew up in the West, so this is something that I never got to see growing up.

This is the White Oak River in North Carolina.

Fall Leaves

I remember when I was growing up my elementary school teachers always had activities where we would draw pictures with brightly colored leaves on the trees during fall. Also the teachers would decorate their rooms with bright oranges, reds and yellows with leaves made out of construction paper. During this time our red, yellow and orange crayons would get most of their use. So I grew up learning all about the brightly colored leaves on the trees during the fall, and thinking about how that's what fall was like. The only problem was that I grew up in Arizona and in Arizona the leaves on the trees don't change color (much). About the closest it got was the leaves on the pecan trees in my front yard would turn slightly yellow before most of them just turned brown and fell off. A few other trees would also turn a slight color, but most would just turn brown and fall off. I never really saw real fall leaves, like the ones I always drew in my classes.

It was not until I moved to North Carolina that I finally saw the fall leaves I had been drawing every year in elementary school. It was only then that I finally understood what I had been drawing for all those years.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 12, Pothos Ivy

One of my favorite house plants is something called Pothos Ivy, also called Golden Pothos or Epipremnum aureum. It is a simple plant that can handle a significant amount of abuse.I have one growing in my apartment right now, and it seems intent on taking over the world. While it is best if the plant is put in soil, that is not necessary as it can grow just fine hydroponically. As a matter of fact I found my current pothos ivy on the hill behind my apartment building where someone had cast it out complete with the original potting soil. I pulled up several strands of it and brought it back to my apartment and stuck it in a jar with water. It put down roots in the water and began to make new leaves apparently puttling everything it needed from the air. I eventually got a pot with some soil for it and it has been growing just fine ever since.

One thing that many people may not realize about this common house plant it that it can grow quite large and the leaves can get as large as 30 cm (12 in.) across. Here is a picture of another pothos plant that I saw at the NC Zoo.

It's growing all over the tree in the center of the picture. Here are some other pictures for scale.

Compare that with the size of the typical house plant (same pen).

What I Like About the Earth: Part 11, Dirt Roads

Yes I like dirt roads. They have character, and they keep the faint of heart away from the really interesting places. I remember going for a ride once with a few friends and as we left the pavement and started bumping over rocks one girl in the car said to the driver, "Oh! This is a very rough road! I hope the rocks don't break your car! Aren't you worried that your car will break?" He was driving a Jeep Cherokee (old body style). The funny thing is at the exact moment she said that I had been thinking, "Wow! This is a nice dirt road. They just graded it." I asked her if she had ever been on a dirt road before and she said that she had never even seen a dirt road in her life (though I later told her brother that story and he said that was not true. There was a dirt road close to their house growing up, but they were from Florida and dirt roads in Florida are not the same as dirt roads in the mountainous West).

This one I call Caravan.

But beware the sharp rocks.
I call this one Dust Trails.
This one has the not so interesting name The Straight Road. It's cropped from a larger picture, to emphasize the road more. The original had much more sky in it (over half). Notice the tire off to the side of the road. We weren't the only ones to lose a tire.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 10, Desolate Places

I know it may be strange to like desolate places but there is just something about them that invites contemplation and thought. I remember an experience I had with a friend of mine who had grown up in New Hampshire but went to college in the West. We were standing outside a house near the edge of a city and a light but silent breeze was blowing. He made the comment that everything felt weird, the breeze, the grass, the air itself, just felt weird and that it was something he had never felt before in his life. I told him that it was the feeling of desolation, and it can be very common in the West. It tends to happen more at high altitudes but this may be because there are less plants, and also when there is a very light almost imperceptible breeze. Anyone who has experienced the feeling knows what I am talking about.

These are pictures of desolate places. The pictures cannot fully convey the feeling, but those who have felt it will know.

This one I call Desolation.
This one I call And I Was Alone.
I was playing around with Photoshop and this one turned out nicely:
This one I call A Desert Place.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 9, Wild Flowers

These tend to speak for themselves. You will have to look closely at the first picture, I count seven different types of wildflowers.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 8, Boulder Fields

I know this may seem like an unusual thing to enjoy, but I find it particularly enjoying to play in a field of boulders. They can be very interesting with a lot of places to explore and many places to hide.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 7, Water on Flowers

Flowers are pretty enough but after a light rain it is always special to go look at not just the flowers but the water droplets on them as well.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 6, Light Snowfall

There is just something about the mixture of white snow with the green of plants that makes a light snowfall in the spring so beautiful. When I saw this I just had to take a picture.Here is another shot from a different angle:

I have used both of these as backgrounds for my computer at various times.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 5, Trees

I am still amazed that something like a tree would, or even could, grow. I like it when the grow tall. I like it when they fall down. I like their shade, the colors, their leaves or needles. I like their bark and trunk and roots. Their branches are exceptionally interesting. Sometimes they make flowers and I like that too.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 4, Lakes

There are many different types of lakes, but for this post I am appreciating the still, mountain lakes. There is just something so peaceful about these lakes. When I see them, or even just a picture of them, I stop and look. Sometimes for a very long time. There is just so much beauty there to see.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 3, Waterfalls

Whenever I see a waterfall I seem to always have to stop and look at it. There is just something about falling water that gives me a feeling of peace and overwhelming appreciation for the things of the Earth. I think I have more pictures of waterfalls that just about anything else.

What I Like About the Earth: Part 2, Mountains

I always remember growing up that where ever I looked I could see mountains. Nearly everywhere I went I could see mountains. They have always been such an amazing sight to see. There is so much to learn about mountains. How the form, how the come down, how they support life, how they affect the weather and how they stay up. It is truly wonderful to see the layers of rock, to find fossils or to just find a rock in the mountains. I hope that someday I can live in a place where I can see the mountains, because they are truly beautiful.
Our Mountain Home So Dear

Our mountain home so dear,
Where crystal waters clear
Flow ever free,
Flow ever free,
While thru the valleys wide
The flow’rs on ev’ry side,
Blooming in stately pride,
Are fair to see.

We’ll roam the verdant hills
And by the sparkling rills
Pluck the wildflow’rs,
Pluck the wildflow’rs;
The fragrance on the air,
The landscape bright and fair,
And sunshine ev’rywhere
Make pleasant hours.

In sylvan depth and shade,
In forest and in glade,
Where-e’er we pass,
Where-e’er we pass,
The hand of God we see
In leaf and bud and tree,
Or bird or humming bee,
Or blade of grass.

The streamlet, flow’r, and sod
Bespeak the works of God;
And all combine,
And all combine,
With most transporting grace,
His handiwork to trace,
Thru nature’s smiling face,
In art divine.

--Emmeline B. Wells

What I Like About the Earth: Part 1, Rain

I like rain. It never ceases to amaze me that stuff will fall out of the sky and get things wet. Because I grew up in a desert I never saw much rain. Thus when I moved to a wetter climate I was amazed at how much rain could come down out of the sky. I could sit there and watch it for hours.

I have seen all kinds of rain. Small, light rain that is more cloud and mist than rain. Large, heavy rain that seems to be coming down in sheets or in one solid mass. I have seen rain so hard that it literally beat down plants and broke leaves. I have seen rain that has gone on for days without stopping. I have had rain come down out of a (nearly) cloudless sky.

It never ceases to amaze me that water will just come down out of the sky and do so much for the Earth. It will water the plants, fill lakes and reservoirs and make mighty rivers and small streams. It will slowly eat away at rocks and wear them down, and take them and carry them to the sea. It is truly amazing that rain comes down and gives to all who need it the water and nourishment that they need.